The Witch
by Ademonmeetsanangel
Summary: Gajeel's guilt may just cause him to lose the light of his life. Will he be able to get her back? Or is it too late for this couple?
1. Chapter 1

(1)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

Gajeel watched solemnly as Levy bounced around happily with a tray of drinks in her hands, as a storm tore through the city.

She was currently filling in for Lisanna, who was about 6 months pregnant with Bixslow's child.

The guild was initially outraged at the news considering Lisanna was only 19 at the time, but they cooled off real quick when they saw the love and excitement oozing off of the couple. Elfman still did manage to land a couple punches on Bixslow though. Mira and Master both took turns threatening the Seith mage but were stopped in their tracks when Bixslow showed them a rather shiny ring.

When it was time for her to take her maternity break, Lisanna put up quite a fight. She didn't want Mira to have to handle everything by herself, and Levy, being the kind hearted soul that she was, stepped up and took Lisanna's place.

So there she was in her cute little apron, scurrying about like a little pixie.

Gajeel sighed into his Mug of beer with chilled bolts, his shrimp had created just for him. That day happened to be one of the days when he felt that his guilt and negativity would consume him. And the sight of his golden hearted shrimp prancing about and looking at him with those trusting eyes, wasn't helping him at all.

"What's got you down, Son?" Master asked gently as he took a seat opposite the brooding man. Gajeel looked at the ancient man gruffly, ready to shoot down his concern, but stopped when he saw the knowing look in his eyes.

Gajeel sighed again before placing his Mug on the table and covering his face with his hands. "Sometimes... Sometimes I feel like I don't belong here..." he said softly and hesitantly peeked through his fingers. Makarov's encouraging smile helped him continue.

"I come from so much darkness and I've done such terrible things to all of you! I've done unspeakable things during my time in Phantom Lord. I've stolen, murdered, and tortured countless people. I'm not worth it Gramps, and seeing Levy smile at me Everyday just makes the pain and guilt worse!" Gajeel finished. Master Makarov looked at the young man in front of him with a sad expression.

"My child, you have had to go through so much at such a young age. I am so sorry you had to go through all of that. But Fairy Tail is your home now! You belong here just as much as anybody else. And I know that one of my children fancies you very very much. Don't take that away from her." Master Makarov said. "Well I don't know who this girl is, but I already have someone I love. And I want to only love her. Even though I can never have her." Gajeel said sadly as a flash of blue hair flew past him. Gajeel blinked and wondered if he was hallucinating. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Master Makarov patted him on the back before getting up and heading towards the office to do more paperwork.

~~~~~Levy's POV~~~~~

I ran out of the guild, trying to keep my face covered. I made it to the Magnolia park before I broke down.

I recalled and analysed each and every word from Gajeel and Gramps' conversation. 'I bring him pain? He loves someone? I-I thought... I thought he liked me? How could I have been so wrong?' I though sadly as i held my face in my hands, silent sobs wracking through my body.

I continued crying for about an hour in the pouring rain. 'I've loved him for two years. I knew it was a slight chance but I-I thought...' And I broke down again.

* * *

A/N: I've changed my writing style a bit in this. The chapters are a little shorter and the story more fast paced. Pls tell me whether you like it or not!

As always! Thanks for reading! 3


	2. Chapter 2

(2)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

Levy woke up to the feeling of someone shaking her and screaming her name.

"Oi! Levy!" Gajeel screamed out as he worriedly shook her again. He found his shrimp sprawled over the bench, and shivering from the cold. The rain had let up now but the temperature was still quite Low. He watched with poorly masked relief as she rubbed her red, puffy eyes and smiled at him.

Still quite lucid, Levy wrapped her arms around Gajeel and snuggled into his warmth. Gajeel blushed a bright red and said her name again. This brought Levy out of her dream-like state and the events of the day before dawned upon her.

She quickly tore away from Gajeel and wrapped her arms around herself to try to hold herself together. Gajeel noticed the change in atmosphere and tried to get closer to her to check on her, but was shocked when she took two steps away from him widening the gap between them.

"I'm sorry Gajeel." She said weakly before taking off in the opposite direction, desperately keeping the tears at Bay. Gajeel was dumbstruck as he continued to stare at the direction she went in. Levy had never rejected his touch before. In fact she'd usually search for reasons to touch him. He felt this sinking feeling in his gut but ignored it. 'Maybe she was just sick, she'll be better later.' He thought

But boy did he think wrong! For the next two weeks Levy avoided him like the plague. She would run away the minute she saw him or ask Mira to give him his special drink. What's worse, Gajeel hadn't seen her smile a real smile for that entire time. And sometimes she'd even come to the guild with bloodshot and swollen eyes.

Gajeel overheard Lucy asking Levy about all of this but Levy just denied everything and told her that she was fine.

It was now week three of Levy ignoring Gajeel and to say that he was pissed would be an understatement. She was a Solid Script mage for crying out loud! Why couldn't she just use her words and talk to him about what was bothering her?! Why the hell was she ignoring him?!

Just as Gajeel was contemplating all of this, he smelt a familiar scent. A huge grin took over his face as he ran towards the guilds main door.

Levy watched in shock as the usual moody Dragon Slayer grinned a grin that could rival the Sun. She watched on curiously, only to see something that broke her heart. She watched as Gajeel wrapped his arms around a tall, curvaceous woman who had just walked in, crushing her in a giant bear hug. They both looked so happy. The guild watched in complete silence, until they heard someone clear his throat.

Master Makarov watched the scene in front of him with wide, surprised eyes. He didn't know that Gajeel could even make such an expression. He hesitantly glanced at Levy who looked at them with a sad smile before she went back to cleaning the table in front of her. Makarov sighed and massaged his head, before clearing his throat.

"Gajeel, could you introduce your friend please?" He said as he smiled at the girl politely. Gajeel pulled away and allowed the whole guild to see who the mystery woman was and they all went slack jawed. Standing in front of them was one of the most beautiful women they had ever seen, which was something considering they had Mirajane and Lucy in their guild.

The woman had Long, straight sky blue locks which ended at her plump derrière. She had a perfect hourglass body, which was scantily clad in a cute summer dress with platform boots. She smiled angelically at the awestruck Master and bowed in greeting. "Hello! My name is Aqua! Im Gajeel's childhood Friend." She said, and even her voice was perfect.

"So! Do you want to fight?!" Natsu screamed out from the other side of the room, breaking the silent atmosphere. Aqua laughed and politely shook her head, "Sorry, I'm not a wizard. I can kick your butt in martial arts though." "You're on!" He screamed and leapt towards her only to be thrown into his butt faster than he could blink. The whole guild bursted out laughing.

Gajeel watched proudly as the only person he'd refer to as family from his old life met his new family. He looked around for Levy but saw that she had disappeared. He smelt the faint smell of salt, which was awfully familiar but before he could think about it Aqua pulled him into a guild brawl.


	3. Chapter 3

(3)

~~~~~Levy's POV~~~~~

'S-So that's the girl he's in love with.' Levy thought sadly as she sniffled in the washroom. 'They look so good together.' She recalled how happy Gajeel looked when he saw Aqua and smiled.

'Now all I've got to do is stay out of their way!' She thought decisively but couldn't stop a tear making its way down her face. 'No, no, no! You cannot be selfish! You must help Gajeel get his dream girl! He deserves at least that much!' She thought as She motivated herself.

She looked at worn expression in the mirror and decided that it would be best to go home, so that she doesn't worry anyone.

As she walked home she remembered her and Gajeel's last conversation. They had talk about going on a Mission together. What she wouldn't give to go back to the time when she was blissfully unaware of how Gajeel actually felt. Levy sighed and looked up at the stars with tear filled eyes. She was at least allowed one last Mission before she had to say goodbye.

Gajeel held a drunk Aqua around the waist as he dragged her to him apartment. "How much did you drink?" He asked with a laugh as she tripped over her legs again. She pinched her fore finger and thumb close to each other, "This much" she said before she started giggling again. Gajeel laughed with her when he saw a flash of blue in front of him. He watched in awe as Levy stood in front of him gazing up at the stars with a heart wrenching expression.

He was just about to call out to her when Aqua screamed out. "Oh look! It's the girl who makes you feel guilty! And the one you l..." He slapped his hand over her mouth, cutting her off. 'I shouldn't have told her!' He thought as he dragged his hand down his face and glanced back at Levy. He saw a tear trail down her face, but that wasn't the truly sad part. Her hollow smile made him feel like someone had reached into his chest and pulled his heart out.

He felt this need to hold her, to protect her. He had never seen her this fragile or this sad before and he vowed to kill the person responsible. Just as he was about to head towards her, he felt Aqua becoming heavier as she passed out. He took his eyes off Levy for one second and by the time he looked up she was gone.

"Levy...?" He whispered worriedly.


	4. Chapter 4

(4)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

The next day, Levy mustered up all the courage she could. She took a deep breath and entered the guild, her eyes immediately finding the tall, raven haired man.

"Gajeel..." Levy quietly muttered as she approached the Dragon Slayer. Gajeel was thanking every God for his enhanced hearing at that moment. He dashed towards her and swooped her into a hug. "Please tell me this means you'll stop ignoring me and start talking to me about what the hell is going on with you." He said vehemently as he gripped onto Levy's slight body like he never wanted to let go.

Levy clutched him just as tight. She didn't want him to go to Aqua, she didn't want to be the reason for his pain! She just wanted to be with him! That's all...

Levy slowed pulled away, only a hairs breath away, and looked right into his eyes.

"Gajeel? Would you like to go on a Mission with me?" She asked with a smile which became sad as she thought about it being their last. Gajeel sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry Lev, I promised Aqua I'd... go with her." Gajeel could feel Levy becoming stiffer with each word, her smile becoming more and more fake. "Ah, I see." She said as she completely pulled away. She half listened to his apologises before walking towards Mira to get a Job. Gajeel watched with eyes filled with regret as she walked away. With each step she took, he could feel her pulling away from him. And inexplicable feeling of dread began to settle in his stomach.

Something wasn't right!

'He rejected me. He rejected me! That's never happened before!' These words were on repeat in Levy's mind as she walked towards Mira's counter to apply for a job. "Hello Mira! Do you have anything with a really high amount of jewels that doesn't require a partner? I'm sorta running low on cash." Levy said as chirpily as she could manage. Mira smiled and nodded before handing her the fliers.

"Translate a set of runes. Beware might awaken deadly being." Levy read out loud. "This sounds interesting! I'll be taking this one please!" Levy said and Mira looked at her slightly worried, "Levy this is for 1,000,000 Jewels. Are you sure you want to go alone?" Mira asked gently and Levy gave her a sad smile. "Jet and Droy are off on a Mission, Lu-Chan and Natsu, finally, are going on a date and G-Gajeel's busy. I don't have anyone to go with Mira." "What about me? I can go with you!" Mira said vehemently. "Lisanna's baby is due sometime this week. These kinds of jobs usually end up taking more than a month. I could never do that to you. Besides, I think I need some alone time, just to figure things out you know?" Levy said and gave Mira a genuine smile.

"Thank you Mira." She said before scooping up the job and heading out the doors.

The great doors closed with an ominous creek and Mira felt a chill run up her spine.

Something wasn't right.


	5. Chapter 5

(5)

~~~~~Levy's POV~~~~~

I travelled about 5 hours to Oak Town to meet the client, a Mr Rave Al. Mr Al, told me that he had found what he believed to be the resting place of a 300 hundred year old witch. He had been researching this witch for over 15 years and had finally found her grave, but he encountered a problem when he tried to get close to it.

The grave was protected by a number of protective spells which Mr Al believed, had been set by the witch to protect her grave from those who may seek it out.

"But why would she go to such lengths to protect her grave?" I asked Mr Rave Al. He sighed and shook his head, "That's the only part I could not found out. My Guess is that maybe she hid some precious jewels or her famed spell book with her corpse." I nodded as I continued to stare at the pictures he had given me of the cave in which the tomb was buried.

I carefully looked at each inscription etched onto the sides of the cave as I sipped on my tea in Mr Al's living room.

I flopped the pictures on the table in defeat when I realised that the symbols did not match any of the 100 languages I had learnt. 'This is going to take longer than I thought!'

* * *

"Eureka!" I screamed out as I jumped up in delight. After over a month of going through book after book, I had finally managed to crack the code!

I jumped up with my finished code in hand and ran into Mr Al's room, only to find the old man lounging on the bed in his towel. He yelped as his face became a shade that resembled Erza's hair. But I paid no attention to any of that and waved him over to the closest table. I didn't even wait for him to hobble over before I delved into the explanation of the code.

"This witch of yours was indeed incredibly smart! So here's what she did. She took two of the most ancient languages, almost a million years old, and combined them to form a single character or a single sound. The spell itself was a simple one. To break it, all one had to do was bind some of their own magic to their words and say the inscription our loud. And now that I've deciphered the inscription, I believe I can get you your coffin!" I said cheerfully.

Mr Al gave me a proud grin before tightening the towel around his pot belly. "Levy dear, I really appreciate you cracking this code but if you wouldn't mind..." he said point at the door. I burnt red as I took in his state of undress.

I apologised profusely as I ran out. 'Stupid! Stupid!' I muttered to myself as I felt my blush dying down. I saw a picture of his dead Wife hung up on the nearby wall and bowed in apology.

'Stupid! I'm so stupid!'


	6. Chapter 6

(6)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

Levy and Mr Rave Al decided to go to the cave immediately considering the fact that it was still only around 9 in the morning.

They chattered on in excitement in the train, wondering and forming theories about what they might find.

"...What if, it turns out that the witch was actually a warlock who hid his identity for years?!" Mr Rave Al said so seriously that Levy bursted our laughing. "So what you're telling m-me is that you think that we are going through all this t-trouble, to find out that she had a penis?" She said between laughs as tears rolled down her face.

Mr Rave looked at her sternly. "It would be the finding of the century if that happened!" He said huffily and Levy continued to try and smother her giggles.

They travelled by train for about two hours and then went by carriage for another half hour, before they arrived at their destination.

Levy looked at the cave and a shiver went down her spine. She ignored it at first but with every step she took towards the cave, she felt herself becoming more and more queasy. She could feel a strong yet disgusting magic power coming from that cave. Her instincts warned her against going through with the spell, but her curious nature got the better of her.

"You ready Mr Al?" She asked as she outstretched her hand and began to concentrate. Mr Al nodded his head decisively and Levy began chanting.

"Azarath Metrion Zynthos!" (A/N: To anyone who gets this, we can totally be friends!)

With each chant she could feel the seal becoming weaker, but she also felt a heavy strain on her own magic as she felt more and more of it being sucked out of her. The strain was abnormally huge and Levy fought against the urge to collapse.

The spell only took 5 minutes, but to Levy it felt like an eternity. Mr Al looked at Levy's pale face worriedly. And was about to go to get her when he felt the barrier drop.

All his attention was immediately diverted to the cave. His eyes glimmered with hope as he slowly hobbled over to the grave.

He went down on his knees in front of it and slowly, almost reverently removed the top. Levy immediately found this weird. What was even weirder was the tears that fell from his eyes when he saw what was inside.

"Joanna..." he whispered as he gently touched whatever was in The Coffin. Levy was about to say something when...

Chomp!


	7. Chapter 7

(7)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

Levy watched in horror as blood gushed out of Mr Al's now headless neck. He remained hovering over The Coffin for a minute before crashing onto the ground right in front of Levy. She tried to move her fatigued body away from the puddle of blood collecting at her feet but failed. She felt a few tears slip out of her face when the warm blood began staining her legs and clothes. Her mind couldn't make sense of what had just happened.

"Seriously! The first meal I have when I wake up was an old man! That wasn't tasty at all!" Levy whipped her head towards The Coffin where the voice had come from. And there stood a... woman? Well she would have been if not for most of her flesh having rotted off, and her very visible bones. But even with all that she looked kind of familiar...

She watched in utter fear as the Monster licked her bloody lips and turned towards Levy. "Now, you on the other hand... you would do nicely." The Monster said and tried to take a step towards Levy only to fall over in a heap of bones, her weakened limbs no longer being able to support her weight.

Levy saw this as her chance and tried to pull herself up again, but she had used too much energy. She couldn't move. She was literally at the monsters mercy.

The Monster sighed and looked at Levy again, this time with an even more sinister look. "This must be my lucky day, I was freed of my prison and the one to do it was my next host." She chuckled darkly. Levy gulped, "N-new h-host?" She stuttered out.

"Oh what do you know! She can talk!" The Monster said sardonically. "Yes my little lamb, I'm going to take over your body and be on my merry little way. I do hope you don't mind. I mean, not that it matters. Now just hold still while I finish up this rune."

Levy heard the sound of scraping and took in a deep breath, 'Ok Levy, you cannot escape right now. The only option you have is to gain more information and stall her Long enough for you to regain Atleast a portion of your strength.' With that in mind, Levy picked herself up and began to use her best weapon, her words.

"What do you mean by 'prison'? I thought you were the one who placed those runes." "Trying to get some information outta me huh little lamb?" She said in a mirthful voice. "I mean y-you are going to k-kill me so you might as well tell me." Levy said with as firm a voice as she could. This was the oldest trick in the book for a reason, and thankfully she brought it!

The Monster guffawed, "You have guts little lamb and you are also right. Well allow me to tell you a tale...


	8. Chapter 8

(8)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

"This tale begins in the city of Magnolia over 300 years ago. This is the typical story of traveller meets hot bombshell, seduces her and then dumps her. Said bombshell then proceeds to claw out his heart and make traveller soup! It was quite delicious actually! And I would have given you the recipe if you weren't you know, gonna die soon and all that." Levy blanched at the thought and nodded slightly.

Satisfied, the Monster continued, "Well even thought I had literally crapped that boy out of my system, I was still a bit hurt by his actions. Since I had become a murderess anyways, I thought 'what the hell' and began dabbling in the dark arts. I sorta wanted to curse his family. Yes family! The asswipe was married and had a Son! So I cursed them with a real Creative spell, I cursed them all with a sickness that would make them kill anyone they touched who didn't have their family's blood. Haha! That was so much fun! They all had to procreate with their own blood or risk losing their bloodline. I'm amazing aren't I? Ha, you should've heard the screams of the children as they were forced to do something so heinous. It was music to my ears." Levy covered her mouth as her eyes grew wide. "Those poor children..." she softly mumbled, and the Monster turned from jovial to furious in a second.

"Of course its poor them! What about me huh?! He used me for my body and then threw me away like I was trash! I gave him everything, all my money, my body, my soul, my heart! And he threw everything away! He and his 'family' deserved everything that's coming to them. I mean the city I killed out of boredom probably didn't but oh well, that's just the way of life." "I-If you w-were so powerful, h-how d-did you end u-u-up here?" Levy asked hesitantly and the monsters face darkened further.

"Some nosy mage lured me into this cave on the pretense of teaching me some new spells and trapped me here. He tied me to that coffin with one spell! I'll never forgive Zeref for as Long as I live! I'm going to make him suffer! And I'm going to make humanity suffer for never, never, ever taking my side! IM GOING TO DESTROY EACH AND EVERY PERSON ON THIS PLANET! IM GOING TO TORTURE THEM TILL THEY ARE BEGGING TO DIE. Doesn't that sound amazing little Lamb? I want you to agree, I will be using your body to do it after all! But you will be dead so who cares!" The Monster began to laugh maniacally while Levy became more and more determined, her mind whizzing over every book about possession she had ever read. Until she found an answer.

'It's the only way! I will not let her harm my friends!'


	9. Chapter 9

(9)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

"Well little lamb. Are you ready?" The Monster asked Levy, who had her eyes closed. 'The kid must be praying' the Monster chuckled but sighed in frustration when she got no reaction from Levy.

'Whatever.' The Monster thought and began the painful process of transferring souls. She screamed as she ripped her soul out of her own body, but smirked when a thought passed through her head. 'This is not even half as painful as it's going to be for her, to have her body accommodate two souls at the same time.' The Monster giggled and slipped into Levy's body, where she found Levy's soul shackled onto her body.

"Wha-what?" She asked completely baffled. "Y-you l-like? My f-Friend taught me t-this! It's a spiritual rune, I-it keeps my soul in m-my body! I. Will. Not. Let. You. Win!" Levy shouted and the Monster turned a dark black. "You filthy piece of shit! I'll make you give up! You have limited magic left and you can't even move. I'm sure your body is in tatters as well. You have a Snowballs Chance in hell." "Well I have a Friend who c-can probably make s-Snowballs in hell. So f-for his s-Sake as well! I r-refuse to g-go down."

Levy used every last ounce of energy to get up. Tears were falling out of her eyes as she felt her body tearing itself apart. She slowly began to head towards the station. About half way there she doubled over and began spewing blood. "Your body isn't going to hold up much longer." The Monster said cockily and then noticed that they were in a crowded area.

"Well since you're such a pig-headed human, this is where I leave you. Thank you for the buffet." The Monster said as she tried to leave Levy's body but soon found out that she couldn't. She looked at Levy in a mighty rage. "What. Did. You. Do?" She hissed.

Levy smirked. "Y-cough-you're stuck with me. T-till death do us part." And with that the Monster began attacking Levy's soul.

Levy stood strong and took blow after blow. She wouldn't go down. Not yet!


	10. Chapter 10

(10)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

~~~~~Back At The Guild~~~~~

"Why isn't she back by now? You said, a month!" Gajeel said gruffly to a slightly ticked off Mira, who was trying to put her baby niece to sleep. "Gajeel, for the 100th time. I do not know! She said it would take ABOUT a month! It could take more or less time! I do not know! And if you were so worried then you should have gone with her! Now move! I have a cranky baby who needs her parents!" Mira pushes past him and walked towards her tired younger sister and future Brother-in-law.

Gajeel sat on his seat and thunked his head onto the table. 'It's not like I didn't want to go. Especially after what I saw that night but Aqua is family and... and I hadn't seen her in so Long!' Every excuse he made just made him that much more upset with himself. They weren't terrible excuses but he should've been there for her no matter what! He sighed and ran his hands along his face.

"What got you so upset?" Aqua asked as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Something she had been doing more often and had been getting on Gajeel's nerves. He didn't want her hands on him, she felt wrong, she smelt wrong. He wanted his shrimp back.

He inconspicuously brushed her hand off, but didn't notice the sad look on Aqua's face when he did. "Shrimp's been gone for over a month now... and I Guess I'm just not used to not seeing her for this Long." He said sheepishly.

Seeing the way he was acting, A dark part of Aquas brain whispered, 'I hope she never comes back.'

Gajeel shivered as a wave of bloodlust washed over him from his left. He whipped his head to the side only to see Aqua sporting her usual angelic smile. 'Weird.' He thought.

"Hey Gajeel... we've known each other since we were kids right?" Gajeel hesitantly nodded, where was she going with this? "Well you said you loved me right?" "Of course I do! You're my precious little Sister." Gajeel said with a wry smile. Aqua slid her hand along Gajeel's thigh, "Only your little Sister? Cause Gajeel, I've always..." "Aqua, shush." Gajeel shut her out when he smelt something that made his blood run cold. Levy's blood, mixed in with a lot of someone else's blood.

He took off to the guild doors and could see Natsu, Wendy and Laxus doing the same.

Laxus threw open the door and caught the blood soaked girl just as she was about to blackout.

"Levy!" The dragon slayers called out loudly. Drawing the attention of every one present.

Levy looked at all of them with tears in her eyes, gasping from the effort it took to just stay awake. "I-i lov-love you guys v-very much." She said through her tears. They all responded with the same answers and Gajeel clutched her hand in his, her face and body were covered in wounds and her heartbeat was slowing down. Gajeel looked at her horrified before turning to Wendy who immediately began to heal her. Levy smile at Wendy but pushed her hands away.

She then looked straight at Gajeel and said two words that left the whole guild speechless.

"Kill me."


	11. Chapter 11

(11)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

Levy immediately blacked out after saying those words. Gajeel looked at her limp body in horror.

Wendy tearfully looked up at Gajeel, "W-what do we do?" Gajeel just wordlessly stared at Levy's hand which was still in his own hand. The Dragon Slayer who hadn't even flinched when facing Achnologia, was now scared stiff. He couldn't lose Levy. Without her, he'd...

His inner monologue was interrupted by an annoyed sounding voice. "Move aside boy." The pink haired healer said as she knelt down next to Levy's body and took her free hand into her own.

'Good heavens child, what have you done to yourself?' Porlyusica thought as she analysed Levy's broken body. "Take her to the infirmary! Now!" She said authoritatively. Elfman went to pick her up but was stopped by Gajeel's firm grip on his hand. "I'll take her." He croaked out as he carefully picked her up and walked towards the infirmary.

Everyone looked on, a look of fear and worry etched into each of their faces. Makarov looked to the heavens and prayed that his daughter would make it out alright.

In the infirmary Porlyusica force fed Levy a couple pain medications after instructing Wendy to perform a spell to preserve her bruised body. Gajeel sighed in relief when Levy's pained expression eased up a little but Wendy was out cold dye to how much magic the spell took.

"You're lucky that carrot-top boy fetched me when he did. Any longer and I don't think she would've had a chance." Porlyusica said a bit, sadly? Gajeel bristled at the bare notion of losing Levy. "I wouldn't have let that happen! I can't!" Gajeel mumbled and Porlyusica shot him a wry smile. "You wouldn't have had a choice... Now call Makarov, Lucy and Bixslow inside. I need to discuss Levy's condition."

Gajeel wordlessly complied, Porlyusica's words had made him face the reality of the situation and he was scared that he would break down any second.

"You wouldn't have had a choice..."

Gajeel returned with said guild mates in tow. Each one worried out of their minds for Levy.

"She is dying." Porlyusica began, ripping off the bandaid. Lucy covered her mouth to muffle a sob while the others looked at the medic with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Bixslow look into her soul. What do you see?" Porlyusica said.

Bixslow raised his visor and activated his eye-magic. "Two souls. I see two souls! Levy has shackled herself to her body but she isn't going to last much longer." Bixslow said urgently as he looked at Porlyusica. The old medic sighed, "I don't know how we can help her..." she said sadly.

"I'm sorry."


	12. Chapter 12

(12)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

"No! I refuse to believe that!" Lucy screamed. "If it is possible to have two souls in her body. Then why can't we just send one more?" Lucy said, tears flowing out of her eyes like waterfalls.

"Two souls is hard enough! If you transfer another soul, she would die instantly. And the spell she cast on herself would take the third soul with her." Bixslow explained as he paced around. "What if..."

Their brainstorming session was interrupted by a loud cough from Levy, whose eyes flew open as she sat upright. She coughed violently, blood seeping out of her chapped lips. She screamed from the pain, and clawed at her arms.

"I-it hurts! It hurts! I-i-it hurts!" Levy screamed out and everyone looked at her with ashen faces. No one knew what to do.

Levy screamed on for about a minute before Gajeel shook himself out of his daze and ran towards his Shrimp. He pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair gently, shushing her as she thrashed and scratched in his arms. "Shrimp. I'm here. Just listen to my voice." He said evenly and Levy did as she was told. She focused only on his voice and soon the pain wasn't her concern anymore it was the handsome man in front of her.

"Really? Him? You could do so much better!" The monsters snarky voice said to Levy as she observed the scene in front of her. Levy just shuddered and shook her head, blood flowing freely from all the gnashes on her 'body'. "I-I-I love him." She said through bloody teeth. The Monster looked at her sinisterly, "But you know he doesn't love you. And will never love you. Don't you, little lamb." "W-way to r-rub salt in f-fresh wounds." Levy ground out with a smile.

"You're an idiot." The Monster stated. Levy just smiled again as she felt another wave of pain rush through her. She gripped onto Gajeel's shirt tightly and ground her teeth together to keep from crying out.

Gajeel watched helplessly as the love of his life went through unimaginable pain. He growled in frustration and tightened his grip on her frail body. Her heartbeat was even slower now. Porlyusica predicted that Levy probably had 8 hours at most. Lucy immediately ran towards the archives to search for some way to cure Levy and Bixslow went to lacrima chat with some elders to see if he could get anymore information about Levy's condition along with Master.

Gajeel however couldn't bare to leave her like that and had decided to stay back and watch her.

"Hey Levy, ya know Lisanna gave birth to the cutest baby. You're going to love her." Gajeel said softly and slightly smiled when he felt Levy tighten her grip on his hand. "Jet and Droy bought you an Ancient tome to read. It's about dragons! You're going to love reading it! So please don't give up! Please! I don't want to live in a world without you! I lo-" Gajeel was interrupted by the door being slammed open.

"I found it!" Lucy panted out as she held the book about dragons in her hand.

"I found the cure!"

* * *

A/N: OMG! Guys! GUYS! This incredible thing just happened! Someone read my other story 'my mate' also a Gajevy fanfic (shameless self promo) and was all,

'was aqua from your last story 'My Mate' ? I hope Gajeel dumps her'

And that made me soooo flipping happy! People are reading my books! And they remember them!

You guys are the best readers ever!

Ps: I'm sorry I couldn't answer your question miss/mr Guest but i can answer it here!

Essentially yes, they are the same. Aqua was created to be the antagonist in all my Gajevy books. So if I feel like my next book needs an antagonist, it's going to be an Aqua! I hope that answers your question!:) And thanks for making me so happy! Have a nice day!

Pps: Shoutout to all my 'Guest' readers and reviewers (like Pixel-pie02, who wrote a whole paragraph! Which was so sweet! And yes! We can totally be friends nowXP) who I cannot thank personally.

And ofcourse my constant supporters like Lotus-san and Oleandra (you have to read his/her stories! They are sooo cute! 3 especially "Difficult day for Gajeel Redfox") You guys always show up and I love it!

Thank you guys so much for your warm wishes and support! I appreciate it!33


	13. Chapter 13

(13)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

The witch scoffed. "Does your blonde Friend have to fulfil every blonde stereotype?" She said spitefully. "D-don't underestimate L-Lu-chan!" Levy said, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"There is a spell in this book which allows a dragon to transfer some of their power to their mate. If you can do it too, you could save her Gajeel!" Lucy panted out.

Gajeel looked at her a bit sadly. "Lucy, that involves the mating ritual. We'd have to interlock our lives for it to work. I cannot do it without Levy's consent." "Well, we can deal with the repercussions later! She needs this now! Or do you not love her enough?" Lucy screamed out. The stress of not being able to talk to her for so Long, coupled with the anxiety of losing her already had him at his wits end. This just served as his tipping point.

"OF COURSE I LOVE HER!" He roared, "She's my everything! But if-if she doesn't want this, If she rejects the mate bond, it'll leave her weaker than she is now and she will actually die. And I'd be the cause of her death. I don't want more guilt or pain." He whispered out brokenly and softly caressed Levy's face. Lucy looked at Gajeel shamefaced and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"She will not reject you." She said so softly that Gajeel thought he was hearing things. "What?" He asked completely gobsmacked. "She loves you Gajeel. She will not reject you." "Stop it Bunny-girl! I know you want me to save her, but you cannot lie about things... like... this..." Gajeel looked at Levy wide eyed when he felt her grip his hand, which was still holding hers. "L-Levy?"

Levy panted with effort as she tried to convey her message. She wrote the words "love" and "it's ok." On his hand in shaky gestures. "Aw, poor little lamb. He doesn't love you back." The witch cackled, but was immediately ticked off when she saw Levy's happy expression. "I finally did it." Levy muttered out tiredly. She knew she couldn't hold on anymore. She was just Glad that she was able to deliver her message.

With the last of her strength Levy wrote her last word before coughing violently, blood spilling out of her mouth.

"Kill"

Gajeel was shocked. Levy had just told him that she loved him. If he was dreaming then this was his favourite dream. But it quickly turned into a nightmare when he felt the last word. He watched helplessly as the woman he loved cried as she coughed. He would do anything to help her.

"I'm sorry Lev." He whispered, "I know I'm a selfish basket for doing this but I cannot lose you." He gently placed a kiss on the convulsing girls hand before pulling away.

"Lucy, I need you to leave." Gajeel said as he gently turned Levy's wrist and affectionately slid his fingers over the inside of it.

Lucy stood there shell shock as she saw Gajeel's eyes glow red, scales forming all over his body. She nearly screamed when she saw two gleaming fangs elongate. "I-I" "NOW!" Gajeel growled fiercely and Lucy all but ran out.

A huge magic circle appeared below them and Gajeel carefully brought her wrist up to his lips. "Here's hoping you don't kill me when you wake up." He said with a small smile as he thought of her slamming her bagpack into his face again.

Ah good times.

* * *

A/N: For anyone who is confused about my updating schedule. I mostly update Everyday (mostly cause I have about 17-18 chapters just lying here and I can't wait to show you guys!)

For reading my stories, to all I thank.


	14. Chapter 14

(14)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

Gajeels magic swirled around the two in thick waves. He took in a deep breath before biting into his own skin and letting a few drops of blood slip into Levy's mouth. "This is going to hurt a bit." He whispered to Levy, before sinking his fangs into the soft skin of her wrist.

Gajeel had done everything his Father had told him to but nothing had happened yet. Taking it as a sign of rejection, he was just about to let go when he was assaulted by an array of memories.

He watched in awe as every feeling, every memory and every thought Levy had ever experienced rushed through his body. "S-She accepted me!"

On the flip side, Levy was going through the same thing. Her eyes watered when she felt the guilt and pain he felt towards her but was reassured by the all encompassing feeling of love that she felt. Levy suddenly felt free, like she was floating in a Long colourful corridor. "Levy?" A familiar gravelly voice called out. "Gajeel!" She screamed out as she hobbled towards him. Gajeel ran up to her and swept her into his arms.

"What has she done to you?" He asked sadly as he took in her cut and bruised face. There were huge cuts along her legs and arms and she could barely walk. Levy just brushed it away and pulled herself closer to Gajeel. "I missed you." She whispered and Gajeel guffawed. "Well blame that on yourself!" "Hey! You were the one who was all, 'seeing her brings me pain' and shiz." Levy responded and Gajeel's smile faded. "Of course it does, I did some awful things to you Levy." "Well to me that was the most awful thing you've ever done to me." Gajeel looked at her like she was insane.

"So it wasn't stringing you up to a tree like a Christmas ornament. It was tell Master that I was in pain because of you?" "That was just a flesh wound. This one hurt!" Levy replied with tear filled eyes. Gajeel looked at her with pure endearment. "I'm sorry Shrimp. I didn't mean that you brought me pain. I just wish there was a way to forget my guilt." And Levy gave Gajeel a sad smile. "I appreciate that Gajeel but it seems like you won't ever be able to forget with me around. So after this is over let's find a way to break this bond shall we? I just want you to be happy Gaj." Levy pulled away from a shell shocked Gajeel and plastered on a fake smile.

"Thanks for the boost up Gajeel!" She said in a shaky voice as she began walking back to her battlefield. Gajeel felt that sinking feeling again, but this time he didn't ignore it. He sprinted towards her and pulled her into a hug.

"Don't you dare talk about leaving me Lev. I won't allow it! Sure I feel guilty sometimes and sure it hurts me that I ever wounded someone so pure. But you make me happier than I ever thought I could be. You've given me a family Lev and that's all I've ever wanted. I love you Levy Mcgarden and I do not intend on ever breaking our bond. Now, do I have to convince you of that for the rest of my life or..." Gajeel was cut off by a weeping Levy pulling him down and kissing him.

She put all her love, passion and anxiety into the kiss and Gajeel did the same. They parted, panting. And for the first time in over 2 months Gajeel saw Levy's vibrant smile. "Wait for me Gajeel! I'm going to kick some ass and be right back." Gajeel gihi'd proudly. "Damn right ya are!" They both just held each other for a couple moments before letting each other go.

"I love you!" Levy said as she turned to walk away, a renewed strength and confidence filling her.

"I love you too." Gajeel said and was again surprised as he was pulled into a tight hug by the little woman. "I still can't believe you said that! Ok I'm actually going now!" Levy said enthusiastically with a bright smile. Gajeel stood there and stared at her retreating back with a dumb grin.

The rest of his life looked good~


	15. Chapter 15

(15)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

Levy slowly opened her eyes and saw the witch waving her bony fingers in her face. (A/N: haha see what I did there, ya know cause her fingers are bones... I'll see myself out.)

"Whew, thought you'd walked through the tunnel of light for a Sec." The witch said with a sly smirk and was shocked to see Levy return her smirk with a confident grin. "Oh trust me. One of us will see the light today and it ain't gonna be me." And with that Levy sprung into action.

She cancelled the rune with a flick of her wrist and ran towards her chanting 'speed' and 'bullet' under her breath.

The witch was shocked when she saw the little girl vanish for a second. Suddenly she was pushed back by the speed of a bullet.

Levy stopped a couple feet behind her and looked back carefully only to see the monster bent all the way backwards and looking at her upside down. Her dingy hair was touching the floor and her yellow teeth were on full display as she grinned at her sardonically. "That's much better little pet. Looks like there was some fight in you after all. Well since you've decided to give it your all, it's only fair that I return in kind. Don't you agree."

The witches eyes and body became darker and darker with every word she said until she literally blended into the shadows. Levy looked around her in fright, she could be attacked from anywhere.

"Argh!" Levy screamed when she felt a claw rip through her torso. She fell onto her knees and muttered a quick 'ice' to help stop the bleeding. Just as she was about to stand up she was held by the head and bashed into the ground. Levy screamed out as her fear grew.

She suddenly felt a comforting hand on her wounded torso. And when she looked down the wound was gone. "Wendy." She muttered and smiled. That was another person she wanted to protect...and maybe eventually even adopt.

She sat down on the floor cross legged and closed her eyes. "Oh what's this? Do you give up little pet? If you so I promise to make your death quick and pain... Argh!" The witch screamed as she felt a spear of ice pierce through her body.

"Holy water. Never leave the house without it." Levy said as she began executing phase two of her plan. She leapt into action and ran towards the screaming shadow. Just as she was about to reach it a menacing hand wrapped around her throat, choking her.

"You really thought I would go down that easy?" The witch asked darkly as she dug her nails into Levy's throat.

Levy's arrow had left a huge hole in her chest, but beyond that, hadn't done much damage. Levy let go of a necklace which had once held the holy water and the witch looked at it for a split second only to find that it was empty. She laughed, "What were you going to..." she looked down at the childlike woman in her grasp only to see her grinning victoriously.

In Levy's blood soaked hands was her still barely beating heart. "H-How... What..?"

Her grip went slack and Levy fell to the floor, gasping for breath.

"Y... cough... you know, that keeping your enemies closer thing... really doesn't work. I could hear your heart beating behind me when you slammed me onto the floor. I just figured you must have one for a reason. It was honestly just dumb luck I suppose." Levy said with her friendly smile as the woman in front of her held into her gushing chest.

The witch looked at Levy's smile and sighed. "I-gasp-I really h-hate you, you know that!" She said as she lay on the floor. Levy giggled.

"I hope you find the asshole in the afterlife and teach him what misery means!" Levy said vehemently and the witch looked at her in shock and then smiled a genuine smile.

"Thank you." She whispered as her body turned into dust. Levy gave her one last smile before flopping onto the floor herself, sweating and gasping.

"S-So tired..."

* * *

A/N: As an apology for not updating for a while, here's an extra chapter!

I'm so sorry for not updating, there's been a lot of problems with my WiFi and stuff so I literally couldn't. Plus some personal stuff is happening as well XP

Anyways! I hope you like this chapter!

As always, Thanketh thee f'r reading mine own st'ry!


	16. Chapter 16

(16)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

~~~~~With Gajeel~~~~~

Gajeel anxiously held on to his mates hand. He could feel her fear and pain and to say he was worried would be an understatement.

He knew his shrimp was strong but the fact that she was fighting alone, without him by her side made him want to rip his hair off. He gently smoothed out her matted hair but stopped dead in his tracks when he smelt Levy's blood.

He watched in horror as the side of Levy's hospital gown became a disgusting brown. "LEVY!" He screamed, and Wendy startled awake. She sluggishly got up and walked towards Levy. She placed her hands on her torso and, with great effort, began repairing the damage. Wendy finally finished the torso and was about to start on the other gnashes but was stopped by Gajeel.

"You're gonna overwork yourself, kid. And we cannot have you dying on us." Wendy have him a tired smile, "S-She needs me." She said shakily and didn't stop until Gajeel pulled her hands off Levy. "She needs you alive kid. And we both know that she would whoop your ass if you continue doing this shit!" Gajeel said playfully and Wendy broke down. She flung herself into the dragonslayers arms and weeped.

"S-She always checked up on my when I overworked myself. S-she'd a-always make sure that I was eating well and that I was studying enough. I can't lose her Gajeel! I-I already lost one Mother!" Gajeel looked at the girl in his arms sympathetically.

Levy, Wendy and Gajeel had gone on a Mission about a year ago and had gotten very close, since. They had unofficially adopted her as their own. Gajeel cared for the girl very much and he knew exactly how she was feeling. "You're not going to lose her kid, neither of us are! She is strong and she will make it out of this!" He said encouragingly and Wendy nodded as she hugged him tighter.

She had never admitted how she felt towards Levy to anyone. She was afraid of rejection, especially considering that Levy was only 24. She didn't think any 24 year old would want a 12 year old Daughter. What she didn't know however was that Levy had kept a stack of adoption papers in her closet for almost 4 months now, trying to find a good time to tell her.

Gajeel held the weeping child closer to him and felt an intense hayseed towards the person who was causing his kid and his mate this much pain.

Gajeel paused for a minute at the realisation of what he had just thought kicked in. 'His kid?' Gajeel ruffled the girls hair and smiled slightly. He'd have to talk to Levy about this.

Gajeel instantly tended up when he heard a loud beep, but more importantly, he couldn't hear Levy's heart. His own body felt like it was shutting down, their hearts were connected after all. He backed away from Wendy gasping and fell to his knees.

In his half delirious state he could hear Bixslow's panicking voice, "Why is this happening?! I cannot feel a presence in her anymore! Why is Gajeel on the floor?! What's going on?!" Gajeel's consciousness was getting further and further away, every second.

'C'mon Shrimp, I know you're strong! Don't give up!" Gajeel though as he blacked out.


	17. Chapter 17

(17)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

Gajeel slowly felt the light flitter in through his eye lids. He groaned and turned on his side yo get away from the bright light, but was stopped by a familiar hand.

Gajeel held the soft hand in his with a slight smile, before recollecting everything that happened. He shot out of bed and nearly cried when he saw a bandaged up Levy sitting on the chair beside his bed.

He gently picked her up and placed her on the bed beside him, she didn't even stir. Gajeel laughed his infamous laugh as he thought about the number of times he had to carry her home when she slept in the guild. He always had to make sure that the heavy tome she was reading didn't come crashing down on her head. There was only one time when he wasn't fast enough and he was surprised to see that his angel hadn't even stirred.

He watched adoringly as Levy shifted closer to him, he took a minute to just take in the fact that she was ok, that she was alive. He then laid down beside her and listened to her heartbeat as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

The next time Gajeel awoke was due to a quiet giggle and shushing coming from the side of the room. He cracked an eye open only to see the most endearing sight. Wendy was lying on Levy's lap, Pantherlily on Levy's shoulder and they were both laughing at something she had said. He looked at the smiles on his family's faces and promised himself that he'd do anything to keep them there.

As he was spacing out he heard a gasp and was taken by surprise when he felt a tiny body tackle him closely followed two others. He laughed and wrapped his arms around his favourite people in the world.

"Seriously! I leave you both alone for a couple months and you get yourselves into so much trouble!" The feline said gruffly *cough* he cried in relief *cough*.

Gajeel laughed at his cats attempt to cover up his tears and pet him gently on the head. Lily looked up at him and smiled. "I'm Glad you're back partner." He muttered.

Wendy on the other hand sobbed into his hospital gown. "Y-you wouldn't wake up! And-and I didn't have enough magic... I'm sorry..." Wendy cried and Gajeel patted her head gently and made her look at him. "I'm fine kid! And I'm Glad you didn't overuse your powers! Thank you for looking after Levy here." Gajeel said pointing to a shaking Levy who had still not said a word. Wendy nodded her head and smiled happily before hopping off the bed and heading out with Lily 'To tell the guild'. (A/N: I love this girl!)

"Lev..." Gajeel said gently as he tried to get her to say something. Her silent sobs only got worse and he decided to just wait.

After about 5 minutes, Levy bursted. "You numbnut! Why the HELL would you mate with me KNOWING you could die?!" Levy said as she held his collar in her hands bringing him closer to her. She then began ranting in every language she knew.

"Tum apne aap ko kya samajthe Ho? Kimi wa baka ka yo?! tu es un idiot! un idiot complet!..."

Gajeel cut her off by pulling her into a hug. "I'm sorry." "Sorry doesn't begin to cover it!" "I'm sorry." "I thought... I thought I killed you!" Levy cried into his shoulder. Gajeel stroked her head gently, "I'm sorry." "I hate you so much, right now." "And I love you so much, right now and forever." He whispered. "You're not being fair!" Levy whispered back getting increasingly flustered, "'everything's fair in love and war'" He said teasingly and Levy bursted out laughing.

"I'm happy you're back ya big lug!" She said with a smile as she kissed him. Gajeel smiled into the kiss and kissed her back.

'Nothing can ruin this day...' He thought tranquilly.

"Gajeel!" A nasally voice called out excitedly. 'I totally jinxed it, didn't I?' Gajeel sighed and turned to look at his clingy Friend.

"Aqua..."


	18. Chapter 18

(18)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

Levy became rigid in Gajeel's arms and was about to pull away but was stopped by Gajeel's steely embrace. Her face burnt red. "Gajeel! Let go!" She whispered vehemently and Gajeel laughed his special laugh and hugged her tighter. Levy huffed but couldn't deny that she was loving this.

Aqua watched the couple flirt happily, completely ignoring her. She glared at them murderously. Gajeel felt that familiar bloodlust again and shoved Levy into his chest protectively. He turned towards Aqua again and saw her angelic smile, but something was off about it now. She seemed to be smiling almost sadistically.

There was a time when Gajeel would have ignored his instincts, he would have given Aqua the benefit of the doubt due to their Long friendship. But when his instincts told him that she wanted to hurt his mate he couldn't ignore it anymore.

He glared at Aqua with his fearsome Kurogane glare while gently petting Levy's head. "Levy could you please give Aqua and I a moment alone?" He said softly and Levy looked up at him reluctantly only to see the love filled look he was giving her and admonish herself. She looked at him with pure love and trust as she nodded and got of his lap. She walked towards the door and left after giving Aqua a wry smile.

Aqua was overjoyed. 'He's choosing me!' Her demented mind whispered, choosing to ignore his terrifying glare. Gajeel looked at her hopeful expression and sighed. "Aqua, I love you as a Sister." He began with a heavy heart. He knew he was about to hurt someone who cared for him a lot and he hated it but, Levy could not be put in danger because of his lack of courage. He wouldn't allow it.

So he continued, "I still remember the day you helped me out of the slums and gave me food and shelter. Even if it was only for a day cause your parents found out." Gajeel let out a sad laugh as he remembered the day fondly, but could also smell his saviours tears. "I'm sorry Aqua, I'm sorry I selfishly left you all those years ago. I know your Father died and you needed help. I was a different man back then. But that's no excuse. I know that the money I sent you every month wasn't enough to remedy the emotional pain. I'm just sorry..." "If you are as sorry as you claim to be then mark me. Take ME as your mate and I'll forgive you Gaj-Gaj!" She screamed out manically as she buried herself into Gajeel's arms.

Gajeel bristled and stayed frozen. He didn't move to reciprocate. Aqua looked up at him with tear filled eyes. "I'm better than her Gaj and you know it. I took you in when you had no one! I was there for you when you had no one! What was she doing huh? Living her merry little life! You owe my Gajeel Redfox! I loved your broken, damaged self for so Long, you owe me for that Gajeel! Now are you going to drop the sl*t or do I have to make her disappear. Cause I will..." Aqua couldn't finish her sentence as she was being pulled off a livid yet heartbroken Gajeel's lap and pulled out of the guild by a mad red-head.

"How dare you come into our guild and treat them like that?!" She bellowed and Aqua looked like she was going to shit herself. She immediately put on her fake smile and looked up at Erza innocently. "What did I do Erza-san? I think you're misunderstanding something." Erza turned as red as her hair in anger she flung the struggling girl out of the guild. "DONT. EVER. COME. BACK." She screamed and slammed the door in her face.

The guild looked at Erza in utter shock, trying to figure out what had happened. Wendy who had been behind Erza the whole time took it upon herself to explain the whole event in detail.

Her explanation was met with howls of rage ranging from, "How dare she try to mess with my ship!" To "She is so not the man! Bullying is VERY unmanly!"

The usually meek and pacifist Wendy nodded along enthusiastically. 'How dare she try to hurt my mama and papa.'


	19. Chapter 19

(19)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

Levy hesitantly entered the room. She had been standing by the door with Wendy and Erza (who had actually come to check up on Gajeel) and had heard everything. She couldn't even fathom how someone so close to you would want to hurt you so badly.

"Gajeel...?" She called out softly as she took in his defeated expression. He let out a bitter laugh. "You know what the sad part is? Everything she said was true." Levy vehemently shook her head.

"Are you insane! That deranged witch clearly doesn't know you Gajeel! She doesn't know about how you've protected the guild time and runs again..." "Yeah, after destroying it a couple times. Face facts Lev, you're too good for me. Maybe you should look into breaking that mating bond..." Gajeel's face stung from the resounding slap he received from Levy.

"D-Don't say that... I just got you..." she said weakly as a few tears streamed down her face. Gajeel looked up at her in shock. "Oh God, see I'm already making you cry. Please don't be sad... um, I'll buy you that book you wanted, you can rant about your stories..." Gajeel blubbering was interrupted by a giggle. "I was sad because you said you didn't want me anymore." Levy said and Gajeel hugged her close as he shook his head, "What gave you that stupid idea!" He growled out and Levy pouted, "You were the one who was all 'look into breaking the mating bond'."

Something Levy finally had Gajeel seeing things for what it was. 'She's as worried about losing me as I am of losing her.' He thought and hugged her closer. "I'm sorry Lev. It's just that Aqua has been like my Sister for years and to hear someone like that say something so like that... It makes you question things." Gajeel reasoned and Levy nodded in understanding.

"Just please don't ever say something like that again alright? Please." Levy said as she snuggled further into Gajeel's arms and he nodded. "I promise."


	20. Chapter 20

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

The guild let out a sigh of relief when they saw the young couple walk out of the Med Bay hand in hand. They weren't exactly being quiet while they fought.

They took a seat at Gajeel's usual table and found out that Lily had gone for a fishing trip with Happy and Charle. Levy had tried to sit next to Gajeel but was placed in his lap before she could even make the effort. Levy giggled at this and snuggled further into Gajeel's chest. She was just about to begin reading her new book when she felt a tap on the shoulder.

She looked up to see Gajeel glaring at her teammates, daring them to say a single negative thing about their relationship. Jet huffed at this. "Calm down lover boy we just want to talk to Levy." He said and Droy nodded behind him.

~~~~~Levy's POV~~~~~

I put my book down and gave them my full attention. Jet saw this and went slightly red, clearing his throat before beginning. "I-I just wanted to say, that I *cough* approve and am really happy for you guys." He finished awkwardly. "Yeah Lev! Gajeel's a pretty good guy and we know that he'll take real good care of you. We wish you all the best! And don't worry about us Lev, we've known for years now so we had time to move on. The fact that you never lead us on also helped." Droy said a little more enthusiastically.

I could feel my face being split in two from how wide I was smiling. "My boys!" I cried out as I launched myself into their arms. "Thank You! Thank you! I love you both so much!" They laughed and ruffled my hair.

My joy only heightened when I saw Gajeel giving the boys a handshake and thanking them in his own gruff manner (He patted them on the shoulder. Hard. I think I heard poor Jets shoulder pop out.)

The next to approach us, just as we were saying goodbye to the boys, were Erza, Mira and Laxus. "This girl right here is our little sister. If I ever find out that you hurt her even the tiniest bit, you can kiss your baby maker goodbye." Erza threatened darkly. "I love this ship Gajeel but, you better follow what Erza told you ok?" Mira said cheerfully but in Satan soul. Laxus just hung back, letting little lightening bolts hit Gajeel, silently telling him how much damage he could cause. Gajeel shivered and broke into a cold sweat.

I on the other hand laughed and threw my arms around them. "I love you guys!" I said softly and beamed when they hugged me back.

"Lev! I expect you at my house tomorrow for all the juicy details!" Lucy screamed out from the other side of the guild. I laughed and nodded before crawling back into Gajeel's lap.

"I love my family." I said fondly and watched with delight as Gajeel's eyes flooded with warmth. "And I love you." He said as he leaned in for a gentle kiss.

* * *

A/N: First one with no typos thanks to the incredible NaLuAlways26! Btw I shall be asking him/her to continue helping my lazy self so a huge thank you to NaLuAlways26!


	21. Chapter 21

(21)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

Our favourite couple had been together for over 6 months and things could have not been any better.

Lissanna and Bixslow's baby had grown splendidly and, being the only baby in Fairytail, was the most coddled creature to exist. They had named their baby boy Ocean due to his blue eyes which almost changed colour depending on his mood, just like the ocean.

Gajeel had recently asked Levy to move in with him in the cutest way. They had been fighting over the fact that Gajeel had come back from a mission over a week late and hadn't even told her. Halfway through the fight, Levy burst into tears because of how worried she was for him, and Gajeel instantly melted.

He got down on one knee in front of her which nearly dove her to a panic attack, and presented her with a beautifully carved key to a new house he had bought. She obviously had been ecstatic but didn't really realize how long it would actually take her to move in.

So now, almost a month later they had finally furnished the house, all 5 rooms plus the kitchen, backyard, library, dining room and the living area.

Levy bounced towards the house happily, one hand wrapped around Gajeel's the other holding Wendy's.

They all held their breath as Levy opened the doors to their new home, and simultaneously let it go when they saw the inside. It was gorgeous but also homey, huge but not big enough to get lost in. It had warm tones of brown from the wood with sparks of blue and black from the furniture spread around, all in all it was their dream house.

Wendy looked around in fascination. She walked around touching things and just taking in the soothing environment they had managed to create together. She then started looking at the pictures on the wall, there were pictures of Gajeel, Lily and Levy goofing off, most of them including her. But her favourite picture was definitely the one where Levy was sitting on Gajeel's lap talking animatedly, mostly about a book, while he looked down at her lovingly with a soft smile.

Wendy then walked into one of the many rooms and was awestruck. The room was styled exactly like her dream room. It had the bed she had been staring at longingly when they were at the store. There was a cute little study table in the corner with an elegant lamp hanging above it. A book shelf which already had a few of her favourite books.

"What do you think?" Levy asked a bit nervously as she watched the young girl take in her surroundings. Wendy looked at her wide-eyed before seeing the board in her hands, it read 'Wendy's Room' in beautiful calligraphy and probably made by Levy herself.

"What's going on...?" She asked a little taken aback. "Would you like to move in with us kid?" Gajeel asked from his place next to Levy, one arm wrapped around her waist. "What?" "No 13 year old should live alone. We want to take care of you, would you want to live with us?" Levy said, still a bit nervous.

A few tears escaped Wendy's eyes. "Yes! Yes, please!" She walked out as she hugged the couple with all her strength. She then remembered Charle and pulled away but Levy had already started, "We asked Charle and she said that she doesn't mind living with us as well. Welcome home Wendy!" Levy said with a broad grin while Gajeel 'gihi'd, happiness shining brightly in his eyes.

"I'm home!"


	22. Chapter 21 (part 2)

(21) (part 2)  
Levy and Gajeel looked at each other with utter contentment as Levy stroked a sleeping Wendy's head, which was resting on her lap. The poor girl was tired after all the excitement over getting a new house and also a family in a way. Gajeel had one arm wrapped around his girlfriend as he looked fondly at Wendy.  
"Mmh... mom..." Wendy muttered in her sleep as she snuggled closer into Levy. Levy's eyes shot open as she turned to Gajeel, happiness evident in her eyes.  
"I want to adopt her Gaj." Levy said adamantly and Gajeel 'gihi'd. "I was wondering when you'd bring this up. I do too Lev. With you." Gajeel said softly and Levy's eyes widened even further. "Seriously?! You want to adopt a child? With me?!" Levy said, completely over the moon. Gajeel nodded happily and Levy brought him in for a steamy kiss.  
"Thank you so much Gajeel. I love you more than I can put into words." She said breathlessly as she pulled away, tears of joy glistening in her eyes. Gajeel looked at her lovingly, "Same here Lev, Same here."


	23. Chapter 22

(22)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

Levy was practically buzzing with excitement as she pulled Wendy along with an increased zest. She had finally been approved for adopting Wendy, almost 2 months after she had applied, and she couldn't wait to tell Wendy.

The girl in question observed her weird behaviour but said nothing about it, thinking that maybe she had just read a really good book or something.

Meanwhile Levy was going through all the preparations in her head. Gajeel and her had decorated the whole house with helium balloons which were her favourite, they had made a huge banner with the words 'BE OUR DAUGHTER?' Written on it and they had bought all her favourite food (as a bribe, just in case she says no.).

Levy excitement dampened when she saw a familiar silhouette, one which she never wanted to see again. "Aqua" She said briefly as she tried to pass by her, but was stopped when Aqua got off her place on the wall and stood in front of her. "Levy..." She gritted out sinisterly and Levy could feel the bloodlust flooding out of her.

She instinctively pushed Wendy behind her and got into a ready position. She wrote the word 'hole' under Aqua before grabbing Wendy and running. She nearly froze in fear when she heard evil cackling from the hole a lot like with the witch.

Levy suddenly felt a surge of energy rushing towards them. She pushed Wendy out of the way and gasped when she saw a magic cancelling shackle grip onto her leg. She struggled out of it before looking up wide eyed. Above her the supposedly 'magicless' Aqua was flying, and in her hands she began forming a ball of energy.

"Oh shit!" Levy screamed out as she began struggling harder. The shackle around her ankles wasn't very tight but it wouldn't let go either unless she broke her foot or something. "Run! I'll be ok!" Levy screamed at Wendy, "I love you babygirl!" She told her through tear filled eyes while Wendy looked behind her in shock.

Levy felt the magic getting closer and closer and she thought to Gajeel, "I'm sorry". She waited for an impact but nothing came.

She opened her eyes and was met by an even more horrible sight. Her Wendy, her Babygirl was lying on the floor bleeding into the pavement. She heard that horrid evil cackle again. "That little twirp! She just had to get in the way! Oh no matter Atleast her death brought that look into your face. I'm Glad I killed her..." she didn't get to finish her sentence because she was being pinned to a wall by a seething Levy. "H-How?" She choked out, the invisible word 'strangulation' preventing her from breathing.

She got no answer however and watched Levy crawl towards Wendy. "You'll be alright babygirl. I'm here. You'll be just fine." Levy said over and over again as she crawled over. She held the bleeding Wendy in her arms as she coughed and wheezed, "I-I Lo *cough* love you m-mama." Wendy smiled painfully as she raised her hand.

Her hand went limp in mine just as I caught her outstretched one...


	24. Chapter 23

(23)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

"NO! Don't you dare do this to me! You will not leave!" Levy yelled out frantically.

She put her hands on Wendy's chest and subconsciously began allowing her magic to flow through her. "Heal!" She yelled "HEAL GODDAMNIT!"

A surge of her magic flowed through Wendy healing every torn fibre of her body, breathing new life into every broken bone. But at the same time, it spread an unimaginable pain through her body. She could feel the pain Wendy felt at that moment and it was excruciating. After a good 2 minutes of this, Wendy coughed out blood as she seemingly came back to life. Levy felt happy tears flow out as well as a severe lack of energy.

As she was resting she heard a resounding evil cackle and sighed, 'Not this s*** again!"

Turns out, she had accidentally released her spell on Aqua as her baby had needed all her attention.

She was fading in and out of consciousness and Aqua was just drawing closer and closer. She couldn't have moved if she had wanted to so she just laid there, completely worn out.

Suddenly there was a scream which suspiciously sounded like her name and then, darkness.

~~~~~Gajeel's POV~~~~~

I was sitting at home with my cat, waiting for my woman and my soon to be daughter to arrive. They were about an hour late and I honestly did not know why.

Just as I was about to head out to look for them I heard Levy's voice in my head. "I'm sorry" she said, and I raced out of the door, Lily following close behind.

I followed her scent into an abandoned alleyway and was confronted by a horrifying scene. Levy was lying on the ground completely immobile, while Aqua stood above her with a ball of energy aimed at her heart. My little girl had bloody and torn clothing but I couldn't see any wounds. What I did smell, strangely enough was a very strong presence of Levy in her, like as though Levy's blood flowed through Wendy's veins.

I snapped out of my stupor when I saw Aqua take another step towards my mate. "Oh hell no!" I growled and launched into action.

I pinned Aqua to a tree with my iron cuffs before shooting out a flare which I was given if I ever wanted to alert the police of anything. I told Lily to keep an eye on the psycho witch and then picked both my girls up in my arms and sprinted towards Porlyusica's cabin, completely ignoring Aqua's calls.

I burst into Porlyusica's cabin and laid them down on separate beds. I was about to head back out to end the woman, no creature, that hurt my family but was held back by Porlyusica. She reminded me that I did have a family, and me rotting in prison isn't going to help anyone. Especially not them.

With great difficulty, I managed to calm myself down and sit on a nearby chair as Porlyusica diagnosed them.

"They'll be fine Redfox." Porlyusica said as she walked out with a thoughtful expression. "What?" Gajeel asked harshly and the old woman's eyebrows furrowed.

"I believe that Levy managed to invoke a very complex and long lost power that once belonged to only the highest level of script mages." Porlyusica said in a grim manner, telling Gajeel that this power up wasn't wanted.

"This spell is the reason we have so few script mages left. Advise her not to use this power too much alright?" Porlyusica got up to move to another room but Gajeel stopped her. "What is it?"

Porlyusica sighed, "This is a headache so I'm only going to say this once. Pay attention! As you know, Script magic is basically the mastery of words. So what if a script mage could master words like 'life' or 'death' or, what I suspect to be the case here, 'heal'?" Gajeel looked at her with wide eyes, the information beginning to sink in.

"That script mage would be sought after and kept by any means necessary. But there is a cost that comes with using such high level magic. The use of this magic comes at the cost of the users lifespan." Gajeel gasped in horror. "From what I've discerned from past texts, each spell would steal about 5 years and cause unimaginable physical pain. What I've also learned is that this spell cannot be performed without prior knowledge of its existence..." "She knew..." Gajeel cut in and Porlyusica gruffly nodded.

"Now if you'll excuse me..." she muttered before leaving Gajeel to his thoughts.


	25. Chapter 24

(24)

~~~~~Levy's POV~~~~~

I woke up in a panic before I noticed where I was. I was sleeping in the guild infirmary wrapped in the arms of my mate. His familiar scent washed over me instantly calming me down.

I drowsily looked around and saw Wendy testing on the bed beside me, I could faintly see her breathing. I smiled in relief and cuddled up against my Gajeel.

"L-Levy...?" His tired voice called out in mild disbelief. I smiled at him and caressed his face. "Gajeel..."

I was interrupted by a brief bone crushing hug before I was faced by a seething Gajeel.

"Mama!" Wendy called out all of a sudden as she quickly got out of bed and raced towards me. I immediately held my arms out for my little girl.

"Wendy! Oh how are you feeling? Are you sure you're ok to be moving around like this? Have you been eating enough?" I was cut off again when she threw her arms around me and began to sob. "I'm so sorry mama." She said through her hiccups.

I just hugged her tighter before giving her a loving smile. "You're my little girl Wen, I would do anything to keep you safe. Plus I should be thanking you! Without you I'd probably be dead meat." I said with a short laugh, but that seemed to only darken the already heavy mood. Gajeel growled and Wendy looked even more upset.

"Can you give us a moment kid?" Gajeel asked gruffly and Wendy complied after giving me another squeeze.

"You stupid, arrogant, mindless little woman!" Gajeel began the moment she stepped out. I blinked up at him in surprise, I'd never seen him this angry before.

"Gajeel, calm down..." "Calm down? Calm Down! Levy you just gave up 5 years of your life! You could've sent a flare or stitched up the wound but you decided to give up 5 years of your life! And now that this secrets out who knows what messed up asshats will be after you and our little girl? And above all why the heck didn't you tell me Lev! I'm your man I'm supposed to protect you, and I couldn't do anything at all. You had to lose 5 years of my life because of how flipping slow I was..." Gajeel took a seat on the edge of my bed looking broken and defeated, 'I caused that...' I thought sadly as I crept up to him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and snuggled into the side of your shoulder.

"I'm sorry." "You were dumb." "Yes I know." There was a lapse of silence. "You would have done this no matter what wouldn't you? I couldn't have stopped you..." He said sadly and I shook my head. "She's my little girl Gajeel, well almost. I won't let anything happen to my child." Gajeel finally smiled, even if it was a tiny one.

"Damn lioness." He muttered with a shake of his head and I giggled. "You know it."


	26. Chapter 25

(25)

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

Gajeel and Levy lay on the bed wrapped in each other's arms.

"It's a shame we couldn't escort Wendy to her adoption party." Levy suddenly said and Gajeel went stiff. He turned his eyes into slits as though to tell her not to continue but she didn't notice it and went on.

"I mean if all the days it had to happen it had to happen on the day we were going to ask Wendy to be our Daughter. I don't even know if she'll want me as a mom after all this. I mean I know she called me mama but still... what if she hates me now Gaj? What if...?"

Levy was interrupted by a silent sob and Gajeel sighed.

"So kid what do you say? Be our Daughter?" Gajeel asked seemingly no one but soon after the door bursted open and Wendy came running in.

"Yes, Yes, YES!" She screamed out as she tackled her new parents. Levy laughed and hugged her Daughter back.

Her Daughter, she couldn't have been more proud!

Master Makarov and Mira had tears streaming from their eyes as they watched the happy family, Mira holding a tray with soup on it. "My ship has a baby!" They said joyfully as they hugged each other.

Charles watched the happy family from the sidelines along with Lily. "I Guess that means we are somehow related too now, doesn't it!" She said as she wiped a couple happy tears away. Lily grinned and nodded, "I think I'm like your Uncle now!" He laughed and Charles followed. They both looked at the family when they heard their names being called. They saw beaming faces and open arms and smiled at each other before zooming towards them.

Their family.

* * *

A/N: OMG! It's almost over folks! It's been a Long, Long journey but it's almost over!

Stay tuned for the epilogue!

Thank you all for reading!


	27. Epilogue

(26)

Epilogue

~~~~~General POV~~~~~

It had been almost six months since the Redfox had started their family and although they did occasionally have their arguments, they couldn't have been happier.

Levy had asked Wendy if she'd like to actually attend Magnolia High school instead of studying at home and only giving the necessary tests. Wendy had nearly strangled Levy to death that day with her hug.

Gajeel and Levy soon found out exactly why their Daughter was so excited, when they saw a beaming Romeo take a blushing Wendy by her hand and lead her to 'their' school. And let's just say that Gajeel wasn't very happy with this situation.

He sulked in the house for the rest of the day muttering about how his little girl was grown up now or about all the torture techniques he'd use on Romeo if he hurt his Daughter. Levy had just laughed at her protective mate while secretly planning Wendy's wedding.

'If she was anything like the rest of her guildmates then Wendy's first crush will be her forever.' Levy thought with a fond smile as she looked at her own mate.

Gajeel sulked all morning and all afternoon till Wendy walked through the doors after waving goodbye to Romeo. The poor boy, however, could feel cold eyes glaring at him the whole time. He turned towards the source of the glare and waved in a friendly manner. Gajeel did not reciprocate and instead closed the curtain on him.

The minute Wendy sat down on the couch Gajeel began his interrogation much to Wendy's chagrin.

Wendy hung in there and answered Gajeel's questions for as Long as she could before shooting Levy a 'please help me look'.

Levy giggled as She folded the last item of clothing, before walking towards the sofa where Gajeel was spread out on his back. She picked his head up and placed it on her lap before giving him a slight peck. "I love you my mate." She said lovingly and also slightly to distract him. "Love you too..." Gajeel said, a bit less grumpily as he began messing with her waist length hair, and Levy smiled. Mission accomplished.

She switched on the lacrima vision and began watching it as she ran her fingers hers through Gajeel's thick mane.

Gajeel felt her bare fingers brush against his scalp soothingly, and it got him thinking. He slid one of his hands into his pocket to play with the small box that lay there tauntingly for almost a month.

Gajeel wasn't afraid of rejection or anything. He just hadn't found the right time. But here, in the house they had built together, raising a child they had adopted, a child who had completed their home, and their cats who were always there for them, Gajeel felt that it was the right time. He looked at his beautiful mate. She was in one of his loose t-shirts and a pair of socks, sans makeup with her hair in a messy bun. He looked at her lovingly and made his decision.

He got onto his feet as if on autopilot which got Levy's attention. She turned to look at him and felt her eyes widen as she saw him get down on one knee.

"G-Gajeel...?" "Levy, you are the most frustrating, strong, worrisome and brave woman I've ever met. But I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life with anyone else. So Levy, my beautiful mate, will you marry mmf...?" Gajeel's question was interrupted by Levy smashing her tear stained lips onto his.

"Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes! I love you so much Gajeel." Levy said as she hugged him into her stomach, bending down to wrap her arms around him. He laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist snuggling further into her tummy the exceeds and Wendy's cheers heard softly in the background.

And that's when he heard it.

Gajeel immediately lifted his head and looked at a puzzled Levy with wide eyes before putting his head back on her tummy.

'Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump.' Gajeel's eyed filled with tears as he looked up at Levy in awe. "What is it Gaj?" Levy asked in confusion as she softly stroked his hair.

"Y-you're pregnant... You're pregnant Levy!" Gajeel's awestruck voice began to sound more and more excited. Levy just blinked at him in surprise but also a quiet understanding. Her period had been late and she had started feeling nauseous around certain food. She had simply thought she had some sort of flu but somewhere deep down she had known.

Her silence struck down Gajeel's excitement. "L-Lev...?" He asked gently breaking her out of her stupor.

Levy shook her head as a smile lit up Her entire face. "I'm carrying our second baby Gajeel!" Levy squealed as she threw herself on Gajeel. His smile was back instantly and he picked her up, giving her the biggest bear hug.

Levy laughed when she felt three tiny thumps on her body.

"I'm getting a sibling." Wendy sobbed out happily as she embraced the couple. Charles was perched on Wendy's shoulder, her little arms wrapped around Levy's waist and she smiled broadly at the young dragon slayer.

She knew that Wendy has always longed for a real family and finally her dream was coming true! She couldn't have been happier for her wards!

Pantherlily was wrapped around Gajeel's head and weeping *sorry* gave Gajeel a manly hand shake while he sweat from his eyes.

They gave each other a final squeeze before letting go with huge beaming smiles.

They returned to their seats and Levy bent down to get her popcorn but was stopped by Gajeel, "What do you think you're doing young lady?" Gajeel asked as he picked up the popcorn for her.

"What do you mean?" Levy asked as she took her popcorn and snuggled into the couch.

"You bending could put strain on the baby!" Gajeel said vehemently as he slung an arm around his pregnant (A/N: Yayyy) shrimp.

Levy facepalmed as Wendy giggled, "Oh I can see how this pregnancy is going to go..." she said with a yawn, suddenly tired. Gajeel noticed immediately and wrapped her up in a blanket and laid her head in his lap. Levy smiled as she snuggled into her man.

'It's not all bad I suppose...' She thought as she fell asleep.

'Not bad at all...'


	28. Final Authors Note!

A/N: Aaaaaannnndddd That's a wrap!

OMG! That was some work!

26 chapters! To be fair they were short ones but still holy hell!

I'm sorry about the irregularity in posting but I hope you still enjoyed!

NOW! For the special mentions;

Lotus-san: Thank you for your constant support and being as invested in the story as you were! I appreciate it A LOT!

Oleandra: Thank you for always predicting my plots XD (ps: if you haven't already, read her stories! They are sooo good!)

Mskumiko24: Thank you so much for reading My Mate and The Game! You put up with me for two Long stories I sincerely appreciate it!

Pixel-pie02: Thank you for taking the time to write that whole paragraph! (Hope you see this sometime!:))

All my 'Guest' Writers: Thank you'd so much for all your support and taking the time to write each and every comment! You really helped me improve my story, one of you even helped me create the whole 'Aqua' arc at the end!

Finally, Thank you to all my readers! I couldn't have done this without you guys! You motivated me to keep writing so thank you! You guys are AWESOME!


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